Jade’s pov:
I was at the funeral, crying as to be expected… and even though I was supposed to be at ease among the pack, with people who loved me, I wasn’t.
The same unusual smell from Alex’s office caught me unaware during the funeral, and I found myself trying to find the person whose very scent I had yet to memorize… and it turned out that it came from none other than Camelia.
If there was one way to describe it, I would say there was some potent jasmin in the mix, though that wasn’t all there was to it.
And though I tried to be reasonable and trust Alex, the fact remained that her perfume was too much for me at the moment, and it also grated on my nerves for some reason.
Don’t let this witch upset you, my wolf growled in my mind. We must think about our pup.
Her reminder gave me back some of my lucidity. I had been planning to pounce on her, and strangle her till she admitted what she was here for, but my wolf’s input brought me back to my senses.
It was audacious of her to show up, and I wanted to know what she was trying to accomplish, but there was no way I was going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me riled up – at my dad’s funeral no less.
Trevor, who had come back home yesterday, was glued to my side, and remained by my side, even when Alex, his alpha, showed up. Trevor was an absolute sweetheart and like the big brother I never had, and nowadays I caught myself wishing his mate and I would become sisters.
I could only hope he would meet her soon.
“To your right, Luna, is Silas,” he told me via mind-link. “And he’s been absolutely inconsolable since…”
He trailed off, not wanting to plunge the dagger lodged in my chest further.
I nodded wordlessly at him and turned to the man who hadn’t had the reflexes or the moves to fend off his attacker.
“Luna Jade, I am so sorry about…” he began in an apologetic tone of voice.
“Sorry won’t do it, Silas,” I said in a gentle albeit firm tone of voice which somehow had the knack to make everyone go silent. His eyes bulged almost comically, and I found myself offering him a small smile as I went on, “You might be a patroller but you need to become a better warrior.”
“I am so sorry, Luna Jade. It won’t happen again,” he said solemnly as he held his fist above his beating heart as if he were making a vow or pledging loyalty to me.
Of course it won’t happen again, seeing as my dad lost his life to save his, I told myself bitterly.
I merely nodded at him, not trusting myself to open my mouth again.
Once I walked away, Silas breathed out a heavy sigh, sounding only half relieved.
Truth be told, my dad was no fool and absolutely knew what he was getting into. He saved that man not reflexively but because he couldn’t stand to sit by and watch, allowing his fate to befall on someone else and do nothing about it.
“To the left, Luna Jade, is…” Trevor began again only for me to stop dead in my tracks, completely bewildered when I saw the man I had once looked up to as an uncle. His deep blue calculating eyes were as I remembered them. The beta of my previous pack was a sly wolf, and I would be stupid to take this lightly.
“The beta of Howling Wolf Pack,” I said in a dumbfounded way as I looked at the man.
“It is good to see you, Jade,” he declared, flashing me a fake smile that wasn’t fooling me, and I stiffened at once.
“Trevor,” I began even as I dismissed beta Naji’s presence, “This man used to make it seem like he cared for my parents, for me, but when my wolf didn’t awaken, he treated me like trash.”
“Don’t be like that, Jade,” he tried to make me see reason.
“It’s Luna Jade to you,” I told him in a sweet tone of voice so at odds with how I felt, I almost puked. “And you’re not welcome here.”
Beta Naji’s eyes glowered at me even as he said, “You don’t belong here. You should be with your true pack…”
“Luna Jade said you’re not welcome here. That is to say you either walk yourself out like a big boy, or I will make you,” Trevor flashed a yellow predatory smile at him.
And yet, that wretched beta didn’t seem to care in the slightest about the threat and only chuckled darkly, “Today is hardly the day for chit chat. I merely came here to offer you my condolences.”
Having said that, he turned on his heels and left, leaving me confused but also angry at what he dared to imply.
“Chit chat,” I echoed dumbly after the man even though he was now out of sight.
“Luna Jade, don’t pay his words any mind. Alpha Xander, Luc and I will do our best to ensure your safety within the pack but also anywhere you should fancy going to.”
“Thank you,” I smiled and nodded at him, appreciating his support when I was most confused.
“It is our duty to protect you, but also our absolute pleasure to serve you, Luna Jade,” he said humbly.
I gave him a nod again, even as my head spun with everything going through my mind.
At this point, I just hoped for a reprieve, but it seemed to be but an illusion.